claymore1977
Espee Fan
Ladies and Gents,
I've been working on several animation based programs for the Texas Instruments Launchpad (like a cheaper, less featureful Arduino). My current project (and seemingly obsession) is to model a modern day LED police lightbar. I started in 1:24 scale for my proof of concept (learning, coding, wiring, etc) and plan on scaling it down step by step until I hit 1:160.
I have a blog going about the light bar here: http://therustyspike.com/2013/05/16/update01-whelen-lightbar/
I don't know what the general atmosphere on this forum for posting links that takes traffic to an external site, but if I erred then someone please correct me.
That blog post is a bit old, so here is a 'Tech Demo' of the most recent progress: (Note: Shaky hand cam, iPhone quality. Was a spur of the moment decision to take a video)
[video=vimeo;67458642]http://vimeo.com/67458642[/video]
Currently, the $2.50 chip (TI's MSP430G2553) that drives this circuit supports the following features:
-6 Red, 6 Blue, 3 white lights on the bar, all independently controlled.
-2 headlamps, 2 Tail Lamps, all independently controlled.
-IR control, pushbutton backup
-25 bar flash patterns, but the chip has room for up to 180.
-35 hours continuous run time on two AAA batteries.
I have heard of people messing with the Arduino for Model Railroad ends, and figured I'd show everyone a good (read: cheaper) alternative to the Arduino. The programming styles are very similar, so if you learn Arduino, you can program for the Launchpad easily enough.
The thing that made me choose the Launchpad over the Arduino was the fact that you can run a launchpad chip off of as little as 2Vdc. Perfect for battery applications in small places.
My Personal blog is here: http://therustyspike.com/
but I am also part of a 'Crowd-Source' initiative to bring inexpensive and easy to make electronic DIY solutions to the hobby. The blog for 'Launchpad for Model railroading' is here: http://launchpad4mrr.blogspot.com/
Thanks for reading!
I've been working on several animation based programs for the Texas Instruments Launchpad (like a cheaper, less featureful Arduino). My current project (and seemingly obsession) is to model a modern day LED police lightbar. I started in 1:24 scale for my proof of concept (learning, coding, wiring, etc) and plan on scaling it down step by step until I hit 1:160.
I have a blog going about the light bar here: http://therustyspike.com/2013/05/16/update01-whelen-lightbar/
I don't know what the general atmosphere on this forum for posting links that takes traffic to an external site, but if I erred then someone please correct me.
That blog post is a bit old, so here is a 'Tech Demo' of the most recent progress: (Note: Shaky hand cam, iPhone quality. Was a spur of the moment decision to take a video)
[video=vimeo;67458642]http://vimeo.com/67458642[/video]
Currently, the $2.50 chip (TI's MSP430G2553) that drives this circuit supports the following features:
-6 Red, 6 Blue, 3 white lights on the bar, all independently controlled.
-2 headlamps, 2 Tail Lamps, all independently controlled.
-IR control, pushbutton backup
-25 bar flash patterns, but the chip has room for up to 180.
-35 hours continuous run time on two AAA batteries.
I have heard of people messing with the Arduino for Model Railroad ends, and figured I'd show everyone a good (read: cheaper) alternative to the Arduino. The programming styles are very similar, so if you learn Arduino, you can program for the Launchpad easily enough.
The thing that made me choose the Launchpad over the Arduino was the fact that you can run a launchpad chip off of as little as 2Vdc. Perfect for battery applications in small places.
My Personal blog is here: http://therustyspike.com/
but I am also part of a 'Crowd-Source' initiative to bring inexpensive and easy to make electronic DIY solutions to the hobby. The blog for 'Launchpad for Model railroading' is here: http://launchpad4mrr.blogspot.com/
Thanks for reading!